electorate already have made up their mind. watching the debate and preparing for tonight is scott pelley who is live for us in denver. thanks for chatting with us. >> good to be with you, derek. thank you. >> let me ask you this question. as you prepare, are you more concerned about doping out when the candidates tell a whopper or the, how can i put this, the feel of things? whether or not the candidates are connecting with the audience and who does that better? >> well, both of those things are going to be extremely important tonight. mitt romney needs to appeal to women in particular. a particular part of the voting group. you probably will be hearing him, trying to reach out to women, apole to women, mention his wife quite a few times as he did during the convention. president obama needs to probably acknowledge the shortcomings of his administration, such as they are, and try to convince the american people that four more years of president obama will be more productive in creating

jobs in the last four years. so both candidates have a great deal of work to do. the latest polling, derek, as you know, shows the race is tied up. shortly on the cbs evening news, we're going to talk to the president and mitt romney. >> the stakes sky high on this one. therefore the expectations have been ramping up by the hour. do these things live up to all that hype? >> sometimes they do, sometimes not. it depends. as you well know, there have been times, derek, that a single phrase in a debate such as this, has turned a campaign around or breathed new life into a flagging campaign. certainly that might be the kind of thing that mitt romney is eager to do tonight. but in the very first debate, their very first meeting here, i wonder whether both of them are going to play defense and get through the 90 minutes without making a mistake. we're going to see whether they come out on the attack or on

defense. it's going to be fascinating. >> we know you will have topnotch coverage at 10:30 on cbs right here. we of course on channel 9 will have more coverage for you at 11:00 p.m. we will also be streaming the debate live for you online on wusa9.com. and as i mentioned, the fact checker here at u.s.a. today will be looking at this debate and figuring out who is telling you the absolute truth about that they believe and what they are saying about your debate. also, as we said, 11:00, we wrap up the entire thing on 9news. back to you in the studio. >> we'll be watching on air and online, derek. thank you. ten years ago tonight, we were struggling to come to terms with what happened earlier in the day. four people shot out of nowhere killed in montgomery county and before the day was over, a fifth would die standing on a street corner in the district. it was really the first day of the terror that would grip this region for three straight weeks. as john allen mohommed and john malvo went on a shooting spree.

they were caught at a rest stop off i-70 in meyersville, maryland. that's where police gathered a will lot of their evidence for their conviction. >> i'm scott broom in prince georges county where ten years after the sniper attacks, the archives and the evidence have been handed over to cure tores tures. there sits that 1990 caprice. >> the trunk was the actual location where the sniper curled up in the trunk and used the slot cut out from the back of the trunk to poke the barrel of the bushmaster through to fire the weapon. >> the archive includes the terro card left at a r the shooting in bowie. >> it was written on pink paper. >> and the note found tacked it a tree where john mohommed begins to lay out his demands. one single item stands out for the cure ray cureator.

>> this cartridge represents a life that was not taken. >> the evidence is scheduled to go on display in 2015 at a future law enforcement museum at the law enforcement memorial. scott broom, 9news now. >> victims of domestic abuse in montgomery county can now go to the family justice center in rockville to get comprehensive help that may save their lives. armando trull reports, they have a high-tech weapon in their protective arsenal. >> a prosecutor and a judge are talking over a video feed. >> in real time. >> that's how victims in maryland can now ask a judge to issue a restraining order against their abuser. >> the petition when they come in, they are not isolated. they are able to avail themselves of all of the services available at the justice center. >> the pilot program has been given the green light to be

implemented statewide. volunteers at the family justice center. she was a victim in 2008. her boyfriend tried to kill her with a two foot tall crucifix. the video feed will make it easier for victims to take the first step and approach a corpse. >> you don't have to see your abuser. you have to do everything on the video. >> the victims that come in here receive wrap around services. they aren't just having the enforcement of the sheriff's office. they are having the state's attorney. they are having health and human services. they are having therapy. >> the green light for statewide imprelimmation comes days after legislation that allows victims of domestic violence to apply for unemployment benefits. victims will no longer have to choose between a paycheck and a beating if they quit their jobs. >> the legislature has continued to pass new indivisible have removed additional barriers to people that find themselves in domestically violent situations. >> the true value of this

center can be summed up in these words. in rockville, armando trull, 9news now. >> an elderly n beat senseless on the streets of silver spring, coming up on 9news at 7:00, his daughter pleads for information that could bring an attacker to justice. >> still to come in this half hour, the fans were ready for more than today's game at nationals park. but would today finally be the day for teddy? the answer ahead in sports. top. >> more like summer than fall, but we'll take it as big changes are in for the weekend. we'll show you the weather cam and put numbers over it. averages are 74 and 55. 92 and 35 are the records. we will come back and talk about the prospect of a thunderstorm tomorrow. the morning commute, and again, big changes over the weekend. and up next, why you may need to keep a pot of water on the stove to make sure you have something safe to drink. we'll explain when we come

back. krystal conwell : we see a lot of problems with the... number of students that we have. resources. materials. things that the children need... on a day-to-day basis. anncr: question seven will help. the department of legislative services says question seven... will mean hundreds of millions of dollars... for schools...from gaming revenues that would have... gone to other states. and independent audits will guarantee the money... goes where it's supposed to. krystal conwell: i think people should vote for question... seven because i think it will be a great benefit to children.

tonight, 9 wants you to know about potential problems with the water in virginia. a broken water main has the virginia department of health telling everybody in town to boil their water. that main has been repaired, but the result of the tests on the water are not due back until tomorrow night. that boil water advisory is

just a precaution. a warning is going out to fairfax county residents about a man grabbing women and fondling them. tonight, a fifth woman says she was a victim, too. >> i'm peggy fox in springfield where residents are on alert after another attack by a man who is grabbing young women from behind and groping them. this woman may be the fifth victim unknown to police because she didn't call them. >> she says a man grabbed her from behind, grabbing her breast right in front of her daughter. she says he wasn't out to rob her because he didn't steal her purse. >> i don't think anybody will be grabbing me. >> having a dog helps. >> now we are scared to go out. after we heard that, we are scared to go out now. >> these women are walking in groups and fathers are warning their daughters. police think it's the same guy who is now grabbed four young women in this area. >> she was walking along the sidewalk about 7:15 when she

felt someone come behind her very quickly and grab her and then run away. >> each time, the creep grabs them from behind and fondles their breasts. >> cannot sit through this. >> grand master hahn demonstrates how to get out of a hold like that. he taught me how to do it in a few minutes. >> yes, like that. bang. >> in springfield, peggy fox, 9news now. >> in alexandria, the lookout is for a man who tried to assault a young woman. it happened last night in holmes run parkway. the victim was walking in a nearby park when police say the suspect approached her and began to talk to her. that man then pulled her into a secluded area and tried to assault her. but she got away. still, alexandria police really need your help to track this man down, so if you know anything, give them a call. new york police commissioner has agreed to restore a service revolver to one of the four officers

involved in the shooting 13 years ago. an unarmed african immigrant. dialo was killed in a garage of bullets fired by police officers who mistook his wallet for a gun. he was hit 19 times. the officers were acquitted of any wrong doing. a d.c. cop is suing two prince georges county cops and the county government. the lawsuit stems from the arrest of the officer, richard meritt, last saturday. the arresting officers used excessive force and committed civil rights violations. assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent, false impressment and false arrest. the head of the chapter of the naacp says there's a pattern of improper police behavior in the county. >> this year has been an increase in a number of cases where citizens are being handcuffed and brutalized or

used in their arrest. >> the lawsuit seeks $3 million. derek. >> lesli, they want your vote, but will they say anything to get it? here at u.s.a. today, they are separating spin from truth during tonight's presidential debate. we'll be here all night long.

don't count on using a big portion of the gw parkway this weekend. the national park service says the northbound lanes will be closed between south run and chain bridge. work to stabilize rocks along the roadway will start around 7:15 friday night. but those lanes should reopen by 5:30 monday morning. did you know that some of you may be driving over an endangered landscape every day on your way to work? according to one nonprofit group, that is the case. the cultural landscape foundation says pennsylvania avenue is falling apart due to neglect and deferred maintenance. the small park surrounding the road have water fountains that don't work and broken benches. the man hoping to call 1600 pennsylvania avenue home come january take the stage tonight for their first debate. our derek mcginty is live at

u.s.a. today headquarters with a preview of it all. >> hi lesli. it's less than two hours and 45 minutes before president obama versus mitt romney on the stage in denver. the first presidential debate. now of course they'll be both sharing their views on what aught to be done and spinning the news on that situation to fit that various world views. here at u.s.a. today where i'll be all evening long, they have fact checkers in place to examine what is being said for the truth and the spin. they'll put it online. so you can know the difference. meantime, susan page of u.s.a. today says this debate has high stakes. >> this contest has been close from the start, although president obama is now building a small advantage when you look at the national polls. and that means that if 5% of americans switch their vote from president obama to mitt romney because of what they see in the debate, that could sway

the election. now if the debates are a draw, that's probably to the advantage of president obama. it is mitt romney who needs to shake things up in these debates. >> and find out whether or not things get shaken up for yourself. watch tonight on channel 9, wusa9 and check out our website. take advantage of that fact checking from the news people here at u.s.a. today. back to you in the studio. >> do you remember in past elections when the voter said they might move out of the country if their candidate didn't win? >> oh yeah, usually an empty threat for sure. >> tonight, one airline has a way for them to make good on those threats. of course, it's coming from jet blue, who else? it's going to give away 2012 seats to customers whose candidates don't win the presidential election. all you have to do is log on to their website, let the airline know who you are pulling for and after november 6, the airline will draw winners of that pool from losing supporters. so, what do you think? >> i don't buy that.

if they were serious about all this, these guys would just have one ticket. forget the round trip, you want to leave town, don't come back. >> giving up a whole other revenue stream. that one way thing isn't going to work. it's a cute little idea. i wonder how many people will take them up on that offer. all right, thanks. would you do it? >> probably not. good point though. all right, 82 today. early to mid september, which i don't think anyone is going to complain. we can't get rid of all the clouds. we will slowly but surely get more sun as we go through the week and finish the week very strong. michael and son weather cam live, see the clouds across the metro area. 82 is the high. temperatures are still very warm at 79 downtown. dew points in the mid 60s. pressure rising. the winds are pretty much dead calm. fall colors, had some e-mails about this. near peek when you go across the divide. once you go across savage

mountain and tucker county, west virginia. some good color showing up around i-81 and some color in the suburbs. if you're going to plan a trip or have folks come in, relatives come in for skyline drive, you aught to wait two weeks. usually it's the 15th or 16th in october and looks that way this year. satellite picture, radar combined. moving from south to north. we can't quite shake this tropical air mass. in some ways isn't bad. the good news is, this front will slowly slide eastward and dispate. another front comes through tonight and that will usher in some cooler and dryer air. especially tomorrow night. in the meantime, we're going to keep the chance of a shower in. there are a couple sprinkles to the west of us. best chance of showers in the mountains. warm through the week. rather mild tonight. more sun tomorrow. each day we get more sun. a fantastic friday and the weekend still looks 50/50 with saturday being the better 50.

for tonight, mild, isolated shower. a little fog. lows in the 60s. i don't think we'll see the dense fog we had this morning. by morning, partly sunny and warm. kids can go short sleeves if they want to. 60s and 70s. by afternoon, partly cloudy skies, continue warm. an isolated shower or thunderstorm. pretty nice thursday, high temperatures 80 to 85. about 10 degrees above average. next three days, we'll keep it code green. 84. fantastic on friday, 82. and then still nice on saturday. most of the showers will be after the terps game saturday night. next seven days, well, we're going to keep the rain and showers on sunday. there is some debate with the models as to when it's going to end. either way it's going to be wet and it's going to be cool. temperatures around 60 on sunday. if you are tailgating or going to the game, and looking at temperatures only in the 60s also as we get into monday. columbus day. and back in the mid 70s

wednesday. we have 80s to 60 and 70s. >> yeah, but it's a good looking week. we can find the good spots in there. speaking of good spots, kristen berset has been hanging out all week long. the nationals make history and they wrapped up the regular season today. what else? what can top it all? >> it's been an exciting three days here at nationals park. but the good thing is, we're not done yet. the nationals headed to the post season. hear from the guys on how they are prepping for their first round. plus a look ahead to see how they could be facing first. we'll break that down for you coming up next in sports.

and now, 9sports with kristen berset. >> welcome back. we are live at nationals park where they have wrapped up a game of 162, the regular season is over. and yes, we know the nats are going to the playoffs and they got the division title. but there was still something to be played for here. not just to get the best record in baseball, but also the nationals trying to secure home field advantage with a win here today. pick this up in the bottom of the 4th. the nats are down one, but not for long. ryan zimmerman swinging the big stick. a home run for him. a solo shot to right, his 25th

of the year. and edwin jackson shut down the phillies, struck out 6 in 6 2/3, allowed one run to pick up his tenth win of the season. nats up two. help power the nats over the phillies 5-1. now it's off to the playoffs. >> it's exciting. it's a lot better to have games to play. i think once we are finally done, however far we make it, hopefully we make it all the way and sit back and look at it. do the same things we have been doing all year and not worry about where we are going to play and whatever, so try to go in there and try to battle. >> we don't know exactly who the nats will face first, but it will be atlanta or st. louis. the nats start on the road this sunday for game one of the five- game series and return here to nats park for game three on wednesday. of course; game four and five here as well. thursday and friday if necessary. but the win wasn't the only big story here today.

teddy roosevelt finally won a president's race. it wasn't without some help. a fake philly fanatic took out george washington, jefferson, and lincoln. the redskins also got back to work today prepping for a big tough matchup this weekend against the atlanta falcons. the falcons are undefeated. theyet to play their next two games at home. it gives them a chance to break a seven-game home losing streak that dates back to next season. rg3 can pick up his season for the fans. they sit at 1-2 with the top scoring offenses in the league. but they say there's much more work to be done. rg3 says they are happy with 2- 2, but it could be much better. they have work to do. we're live at nats park, i'm kristen berset, back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much. we'll see if they can get it done. the cbs evening news is next. anita is back for derek at

7:00. we hope you'll stay with us for the debate coverage and the 11:00 news coverage. krystal conwell : we see a lot of problems with the... number of students that we have. resources. materials. things that the children need... on a day-to-day basis. anncr: question seven will help. the department of legislative services says question seven... will mean hundreds of millions of dollars... for schools...from gaming revenues that would have... gone to other states. and independent audits will guarantee the money...

goes where it's supposed to. krystal conwell: i think people should vote for question... seven because i think it will be a great benefit to children.